Tuesday, July 02, 2013

Update On Young Dutch Reporter Gang Raped In Egypt

Few more details have emerged on the Dutch reporter gang raped by at least five men in Cairo's Tahrir Square during the protests.

The 22-year old was apparently an intern taking pictures of the protests. As I mentioned before, she was badly injured and had to undergo surgery, but has now been repatriated back to the Netherlands.

Local news reports also claim that a grandmother and a seven-year-old child were sexually assaulted as well.

Last night Jeremy Bowen, the BBC’s Middle East editor, tweeted: “Sadly #tahrir revolutionary atmosphere of people behaving well with common purpose long gone. Sexual assault common. No cops in sight.”

There were 44 reports of sexual assaults and harassment on June 30th alone, according to
the Egyptian activist group Operation Anti-Sexual Harassment. Even if they're exaggerating the numbers, the Egyptian protests are obviously no safe place for women, and any news organization that sends a woman out to report on Egypt ought to be liable for contributory negligence.

What respect for women does anyone expect out of a Muslim society that performs clitorectomies and mutilates the genitalia of 90% of its female population?